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Top 2018 F&B Trends You Shouldn’t Miss
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
The Food & Beverage (F&B) industry is an ever-changing scene with trends emerging faster than we can react to them. As an F&B owner, keeping up with the latest industry and consumer trends should be one of your priorities. Truth be told, it can get a little overwhelming – we’ve all been there.
That is why we are here to help you! The team at Oddle has created a FREE EBook on the F&B Trends & Statistics of 2018. This article will highlight the key points of the EBook, you can download the free EBook on their original article.
Let’s dive right in!
The F&B Industry
With thousands of new entrants each year, the F&B industry has been increasingly competitive. If you want to stay ahead of the game, it is crucial that you remain on top of the changing consumer trends.
Restaurant Sector
With more than 1 million restaurants in the United States itself, the restaurant sector does indeed hold a significant share in shaping the F&B industry. In this time and age, over 80% of restaurants are turning to technology. From digital marketing to online ordering and reservation, many restaurants utilise technological advancements in one way or another to help them run their business more smoothly and successfully.
According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), out of all the restaurants in the U.S.,
Consumer Trends
Here, we discuss the consumer trends that will affect your restaurant business and reveal the solution that’ll help you attract and retain your customers.
Age Of Technology
Your customers are perpetually on their smartphones. It could be taking a call at work, scrolling through their social media pages or just surfing the net; it is almost as if they are glued to the phone. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, 92% of consumers search for a restaurant on a mobile web browser. This means your potential customers may just be searching for your restaurant right now!
Evolution Of Convenience
Convenience is king to consumers today. Cooking at home is now commonly viewed as a chore and is considered to be very time-consuming. As such, many people prefer to dine out, purchase cooked food or order food delivery, causing home-cooked meals to become a rarity.
Tip: Delivery of goods is no longer perceived as a point of differentiation, but rather a norm, by your customers. Is your restaurant catering to your customers by offering online ordering and delivery services?
Need For Speed
We are experiencing the growing culture of impatience. Consumers expect instant gratification now, fast is no longer enough, instant is the way to go. That said, having customers queue physically at your restaurant may be a turn-off. Think of ways your restaurant can help your customers bypass queues. How about letting your customers order in advance, without having to be physically at your store, and when they arrive, their food is just in time for pickup?
Solution: Provide Online Ordering & Delivery Services
So what’s the answer to these trends? That’s right, you’ve got to start providing online food ordering services!
By going online, not only are you gaining visibility in the technological realm your customers are living in. You are also giving your customers the option to conveniently order their favorites from your restaurant in the comfort of their homes. Don’t ignore what your customers’ behaviours are telling you, use it to your advantage instead.
In fact, the trend of online food ordering has taken the world by storm in the recent years and is showing no signs of slowing down in the coming years. Revenue for 2018 in this sector is forecasted to hit US$121,848m.
Get this: “The most popular place to eat out this year will be our home.” – Bonnie Riggs, analyst in NPD Group.
Factors Improving Online Food Ordering
Proliferation Of Third-Party Delivery Vendors
Delivery is one of the fundamentals of the success of online food ordering. Being an F&B business owner, you have to keep your operations up with this flourishing sector. With the help of an online ordering system, the integration of your restaurant’s orders and the third-party delivery vendors can be made seamless.
Social Media Call-To-Action (CTA)
The number of social media users amounts to 2.46b users worldwide. Social media platforms are a great way to reach out to your customers and CTAs encourage them to order from your online shopping cart.
They look something like this:
Ghost Restaurant Wave
No, there’s nothing scary about these restaurants. Ghost restaurants, also known as headless or virtual restaurants, are food service establishments that exclusively offers food delivery. These restaurants do not have a storefront or any seating capacity. Customers order food from the restaurants’ online menu and have their food delivered to anywhere they want.
Bottom line: The growth of ghost restaurants goes to show that the food delivery trend, unequivocally, has legs and is set to continue running through 2018.
Food Trends & Concepts
Behold! Here are 5 ideas that will be running the food scene in 2018.
- Gut-healing Foods
- Plant-based Diets
- Colours for the ‘Gram
- Food Bowls
- Root-to-Stem Cooking
Psst! Find out more about these trends in the EBook.
Food Sustainability
Here’s the big idea.
A study by Food Sustainability Index has shown that with the growing number of mouths to feed (2b more by the year 2050), food production has to increase by 50% globally. Many of your customers are increasingly conscious about the importance of food sustainability, and they are making more “responsible” food choices. Recognize what your customers are looking for and leverage on cost-efficient green efforts.
